Monday, February 27, 2012

So, last Monday we covered our Five Favorite Smells. Not only is thinking of favorite smells a relaxing activity to get all those wheels in your head to shut up so you can go to sleep, it's not a bad writing exercise either. Do you forget to include all the senses when you write? Sometimes I do, and I have to go back in and add what a place feels like, smells like. How is the light? What is the weather?
Anyhow - today we cover sight. My five (ha!) favorite sights are:

• A grey sky on a purely writing day.
• New buds on the branches of the tree just outside my window.
• A fiery yellow sugar maple at its peak in Fall.
• A beautiful sunrise/sunset. (Not original, but hey.)
• A freshly made bed, right before I crawl into it.

How about you?
I had so much fun reading your answers last week and I know you'll remind me of tons of things I've forgotten to list. Have at it!

Friday, February 24, 2012

Today (Friday) kicks off our 2012 SCBWI Southern Breeze Springmingle conference here in Atlanta! That would be the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Southern Chapter covering Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. It's a wonderful gathering of friends and fellow creators as we learn from some of the top Editors, Authors, and Illustrators in the biz. I have the pleasure of being Kirby Larson's angel this year (and showing her around Atlanta like she did for me in Seattle last summer). Hope to see you there!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

According to School Library Journal, the rumor is that LeVar Burton has plans to bring back Reading Rainbow as an APP! 'Twould be very cool to have Reading Rainbow back in any form at all. Although you can hang out at RRKids for now. No further details on the APP yet, but stay tuned!

Monday, February 20, 2012

So I was laying in bed last night (lying? whatever). Anyhow, all those things I've got to do were racing through my head and keeping me awake, as they so often do. To thwart them, I came up with a new way to calm myself down: Think of my five favorite smells/sounds/sights/etc.
Today, I'm listing smells. My five favorite smells are:

• Blooming abelia and orange blossom bushes caught on a gentle breeze.
• Baking bread and brewing coffee (even though I can't drink the stuff).
• The smell of my husband's cooking from the upstairs hallway. (He's really good.)
• Gardenias and magnolia blooms.
• The smell of a burning fire (fireplace) on a crisp, clear winter day. (Can I add the smell of grilling in July?)

Okay, so maybe that ended up being more like seven or eight things. Hm. What are your five favorite smells?
Oh, and you can pair these lists with your five least favorite smells/sounds/sights as well, but I found that to be much less productive towards the sleep process.

Q. - Hi Katie - congratulations on all the success with LITTLE CHICKEN'S BIG DAY and your other books. You are THE Queen promoter in the children's book biz. What made you decide to write a book about it?

A. - Picture book writer Carolyn Crimi gave me the idea years ago. But I wasn't really excited about sharing my knowledge in a book until I wrote a blog series leading up to my launch of LITTLE CHICKEN'S BIG DAY. So many people commented about how much it helped them that it made me want to reach an even broader audience. I figure why should I be the only one who learns from my mistakes?!

Q. - If there's one thing a soon-to-be-published author could do to improve their marketing, what would you recommend?

A. - Hmm. It would have to depend on what that soon-to-be-published author has done already.
• No web site? Get one!
• You have a web site but don't update it regularly? Start now!
• You update regularly but don't interact with your commenters? Respond!
• You tweet? Great!
• You tweet but it's all about you? Look outward!
It's no singular thing, and all the things are interconnected. At center is it's really all about connecting, transparency, and reciprocity. That is what is the most effective for me.

A. - It never occurred to me that someone would want to publish it! But also, there are probably over 200 links in this eBook and since things change so rapidly I can create new editions fairly quickly and re-upload them to the online booksellers. I am trying to get a google books version done so indies can carry it, but wow, they make it very complicated!

Thanks for stopping by, Katie!!!

GIVEAWAY!!
Katie has kindly offered to give away one free copy (a downloadable .pdf) of HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR CHILDREN'S BOOK to one of my lucky commentors. Just leave a message ON THIS BLOG POST and be sure to include your name and email addy (spelled out is fine - like this: your name at whatever dot com) so that I can contact you if you win. Once I reach 12 comments, I'll do a random drawing.

HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR CHILDREN'S BOOK is also available for the Kindle, Nook, or iPad - CLICK HERE.

WAIT! There's more!
Katie has visited lots of other blogs while promoting HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR CHILDREN'S BOOK, and there's different information at each of them (including more giveaways and an awesome tour of Katie's creative space). So be sure to visit:

Sunday, February 12, 2012

I sing and hum. A lot. And oftentimes I catch myself humming one of about three or four songs. I call them my default songs and I've been singing/humming them my entire life. They are: Yellow Submarine; Peter and the Wolf; and God Save the Queen. (I think there's one more, but I can't think of it right now.) I have no idea why these are my defaults. I find the first song annoying, and I'm not even British. I really only like the second one. So truly, why these songs? I suppose it could be worse. I could be cursed with "Feelings." Gads.
Do you do this too? What are YOUR default songs?

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Today I have the distinct pleasure of honoring a dear friend and amazingly talented illustrator, Liz Conrad, who we lost to cancer in 2009. Liz worked on a series of board books written by David Steinberg (Price Stern Sloan): The Turkey Ball; The Witches' Ball; The Bunny Ball; The Beach Ball; and The Snow Ball. With Liz's enhanced cut paper style, these books came to life as an adorable and successful series.
And then came apps and ebooks. David had the wonderful idea that Liz's art would adapt well, and he was so right. With the family's permission and support, THE SNOW BALL app is born!
And oh, does Liz's artwork shine! Turns out her style fits apps so incredibly well. And with the deft programming of PadWorx, movement and a game, PENGUIN ATTACK, bring THE SNOW BALL to life. Liz would have been thrilled. Without bias, I can say this is one of the best looking, most adorable children's apps I've ever seen.
I asked David about how the app came to be...

Q. What a wonderful tribute to Liz and her artwork. What encouraged you to create "The Snow Ball" app?

A. The business of making children's books is really some kind of magic alchemy. You have so many ingredients that, when they come together just right, can really spring off the shelf. This is the way I felt about the five "holiday ball books" that I worked on with Liz. There is something about the playfulness of her designs and the colors and textures she chooses, that just always make my words complete. I love those books.
Over the last year or so, I've been watching this evolving world of children's book apps for the exploding tablet market, and Liz's books jumped out at me as really lending themselves to this kind of treatment. When you look at her illustrations, there are so many fun details and you can't help wanting to see those adorable characters come to life. They're just begging for interactivity! So when my wife and I decided that we wanted to explore this new interactive book form, the first books I naturally wanted to try out were the ones Liz and I did together. I have always had a soft spot for The Snow Ball, and then when we mapped a production schedule out with PadWorx, the company we worked with in Toronto on this app, winter was the logical first season to go with. I contacted Liz's family to make sure they liked the idea, and they did--so we dove in and worked hard to make the app as magical as we imagined it could be. I am happy with the way it turned out and really the best praise I have received was from Liz's family, saying that they were sure Liz would have been happy with the results, as well.
Of course, the app is dedicated to Liz's memory and we've committed to donating a portion of proceeds to the Cancer Society.

Thanks so much for creating THE SNOW BALL, David! CLICK HERE to learn more about David as well as the app at his website.

GIVEAWAY!!
David is kindly offering one free app to the winner of my drawing. Just leave a comment ON THIS BLOG POST and once we reach at least 12 comments, I'll do a drawing. You must leave your email address (your name at something dot come is fine) so I can get in touch with you, and live in the US or Canada to win.

Sunday, February 05, 2012

Along the lines of celebrating hurdles when you reach them... Friday I printed out my latest novel for my first readers to edit and give feedback. This is the novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo and at 65,000 words, it is a half ream of paper - the perfect length. It feels so good to see it in physical form. (I keep petting it - nice manuscript.) But the most interesting thing about this story so far (there will be another round of revisions) is it's taken me all of three months - November 1 - February 3. My last novel took 2 1/2 years (currently out on submission). The one before that took 4 years. I have to wonder if I'm getting the hang of this writing thing.

Saturday, February 04, 2012

I learned how to draw using my thumbprint - did you? Mr. Emberley has created so many wonderful books for children to learn how to draw. And that's after an amazing career of drawing himself. The video is about 20 minutes and totally worth watching:

Every child believes themselves to be an artist - until they compare their work to others' or are told differently.
I love the joy the first artist gets from his creation... until he compares it to somebody else's work. There's a strong message there. Create for the way it makes you feel - not for how it fares in the world.

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

• How do you network?
• Where do you network?
• What are the big no-nos of networking?
• What are the 3 most effective ways to network?
• Top 3 ways to follow up after you've met someone?
• How to turn an acquaintance into a friend...

TweetChat is my favorite way to join in on the conversation. Just plug in the hashtag: #kidlitPRChat at 6:00 and voila!Hope to see you there!

You've seen Maru before, right? The cat who became famous for jumping in and out of boxes? Well, his sweet parents got him a new house of sorts. If only they hadn't put it on a rolling chair...Put your coffee down, you don't want to spit on your screen.